Kat’s Film and Book Reviews

Last time our movie quote was this:

There are just too many notes!

That line was from the movie Amadeus, and was given by Jeffrey Jones as the Emperor Joseph II.

Okay, now, here’s next week’s, hopefully.

Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in.

Actress Lynn Redgrave died Sunday after a 7-year battle with breast cancer.  She was 67 years old.

Image courtesty of scad.edu

Lynn was the sister of Vanessa and Corin, all of them children of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.  Corin died just last month, but Vanessa survives.  The siblings, especially the sisters, were always close, and all of them insist that any rivalry between them was made up by the press.  Lynn was a quieter, less flashy talent than Vanessa, but she always worked, and was nominated twice for Oscars.  Her first one was for 1968’s Georgy Girl, where she competed against her sister, but both lost to Elizabeth Taylor.  She was also known for her flexibility and sense of humor, appearing on sitcoms as well as in dramatic Oscar-nom material.  Her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination was for playing the brusque housekeeper in Gods and Monsters, but she took roles on The Love Boat, Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty, too.

It’s been a terrible year for the Redgrave family.  Niece Natasha Richardson died in a ski accident last year, then Corin last month, and now Lynn.  I’m sorry she’s gone; she was a steady, hardworking, non-pretentious presence in a crazy, self-aggrandizing business.  I wish her family every comfort and blessing as they go on without her.

Here was our last film quotation:

One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.  How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know.

That classic line was spoken by Captain Jeffrey Spaulding, played by Groucho Marx, in the 1930 movie, Animal Crackers.

Okay, here’s our next one.  This one’s dedicated to my sweetie, but anyone can guess it.

There are simply too many notes!

What do you think?  Can you get it?

Well, now that the President has thrown out the first pitch, baseball
season's officially underway.  So, to stay with the theme, what do you
think is the best baseball movie ever?  

If it's not on this list, put your answer in the comments.

Like two weeks late.  Whatever.  Let’s just admit that “Sunday” is an approximation.

Last time out quotation was:  Fasten your seatbelts.  It’s going to be a bumpy night.

Here’s Bette Davis as Margo Channing:

Ready for a new one for next time?  This one’s especially for my daddy, but anyone can guess it:

One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.  How he got in my pajamas, I don’t know.

Okay, remember last week’s quotation?  It was won by Abby, who correctly guessed Back to the Future. Good job, Abby!

Here’s the original Back to the Future trailer, though it doesn’t have last week’s quotation in it.

Now, for the new quotation!  Ready?

Fasten your seatbelts.  It’s going to be a bumpy night.

Last week’s quotation, if you’ll remember, was this:

Cars don’t behave.  They are behaved upon.

That quotation is from Driving Miss Daisy, 1989.  Here’s Siskel and Ebert’s review, which includes the scene with the quotation in it:

Now, here’s the new week’s quotation.  This one has a special shout-out to Ray:

He’s an idiot. Comes from upbringing. His parents are probably idiots too.

Image courtesy of Chicagoist.com

DH and I are big fans of film critic Roger Ebert–which is not to say we always agree with him (usually, but not always).  We have both of his books containing reviews of movies he gave 2 stars or less to (I Hated, Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie and Your Movie Sucks).  So, since this film blog has been quite short of Oscar season news, I thought I would give y’all Roger Ebert’s Oscar picks for this year. He says, “I can’t remember a year when it seemed easier to predict the Oscars.”  Of course, we all know that what should win isn’t always what does win!

I’ll give the whole category, then indicate Ebert’s picks.

Image courtesy of Manny the Movie Guy

Best Film

• Avatar
• The Blind Side
• District 9
• An Education
• The Hurt Locker
• Inglorious Basterds
• Precious
• A Serious Man
• Up
• Up In the Air

Ebert likes The Hurt Locker.  He also gives good reasons that Up in the Air and Avatar might have shots, but says, “Of these three, I’m predicting The Hurt Locker. If one of the other seven wins, let’s say I’ll be very surprised.

Best Director

• James Cameron for Avatar
• Katherine Bigelow for The Hurt Locker
• Quentin Tarantino for Inglorious Basterds
• Lee Daniels for Precious
• Jason Reitman for Up In the Air

Ebert says, “If you vote against Kathryn Bigelow of The Hurt Locker, you’ll be going against years of precedent that say the winner of the Directors Guild Award will win the Oscar.”

Best Actor in a Leading Role

• Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart
• George Clooney for Up In the Air
• Colin Firth for A Single Man
• Morgan Freeman for Invictus
• Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker

While I would like to say that Colin Firth is totally due, Ebert has a different opinion.  “Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart. The movie opened late in December and moved out more widely in January. But the distributor, Fox Searchlight, made a wise move: They screened it extensively in advance for movie critics and sent out lots of screeners. Bridges’ great performance swept the critics’ awards, won a Golden Globe, a SAG award and now looks like the winner. Jeremy Renner or George Clooney could win, but Bridges has the momentum.”

Best Actress in a Leading Role

• Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side
• Helen Mirren for The Last Station
• Carey Mulligan for An Education
• Gabourey Sidibe for Precious
• Meryl Streep for Julie and Julia

Ebert likes Sandra Bullock.  “Few people saw this one coming, especially in a year where her two earlier pictures bombed, but Sandra Bullock’s comeback in The Blind Side was dazzling, and she also collected a lot of year-end awards. Meryl Streep was thought to be the front-runner for Julie & Julia, but Oscar likes a comeback role, and Streep has never needed one.”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Matt Damon in Invictus
• Woody Harrelson in The Messenger
• Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
• Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones
• Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds

While I have sentimental reasons for wanting to see Harrelson and Tucci honored (I didn’t know Christopher Plummer was still alive, actually), Ebert is firm: “Christoph Waltz, a relative unknown, won the best actor award at Cannes in May 2009 for Inglourious Basterds and has never looked back. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t expect him to win this category. A sure thing.”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Penelope Cruz in Nine
• Maggie Gyllenhall for Crazy Heart
• Anne Kendrick for Up In the Air
• Vera Farmiga for Up In the Air
• Mo’Nique for Precious

Ebert’s pretty positive about this one, too.  “Here again, what looks like a sure thing: Mo’Nique, for her powerful performance as the mother in Precious. Known primarily as a TV personally and comic, she came, in a way, out of nowhere to create a character who was a damaged, cruel woman. The other four nominees were all very, very good, but Mo’Nique will win.”

I like to see comedic actors stretch their dramatic wings, so I’d be okay with Mo’Nique for that reason.

Actually, I’d be okay with all of these.  Does anyone else have any predictions, or any arguments with Ebert’s thoughts?  I’d love to hear them.